Chapter 38 - Worth Fighting For

“Alright dear, are you ready?” asked Solana.

Holly looked up from her pile of seeds as if the chef was an alien. Once again, the stray Resonator had borrowed a set of Vivi's spare clothes so her own could be washed. They were quite loose on Holly despite how much smaller the linsang was than her companions. “Ready for what?” asked the annoyed plant.

“It's time to head down to the hunting grounds,” replied the Maestro as if it should have been obvious.
“I don't work for you,” snipped Holly.
“No, but I did have to pay for the damages to the kitchen.”

The zalavan winced, lowering her head shamefully. “I told you to keep-”
“It was at least twelve hundred notes worth of damage.” Solana stabbed her with the metaphorical knife.

She didn't like how the Maestro was guilt-tripping her into work.

“I can give you the cash if you prefer,” Solana offered, instead.
“No no, let me just work this off,” the plant groused.
“Alright, get dressed then; I washed your clothes for you,” the chef presented the laundry bag.

Holly hummed in annoyance, snatching the bag from the pushy chef.

One dressing later, the nature element was ready to hit the town. She packed up her seeds and organized them into her bag. Especially after last night, she wanted to make sure she was ready to fight. With that in mind, she slipped her knife on her side and pulled her jacket over it.

The trip down to the hunting grounds mirrored yesterday's travel itinerary – Vivi and Solana had the big backpacks, while Lee had his parasol and medical supplies. The bus carried them down to the base camp where they got ready for another night of food service.

It was all the same – meal prep, then service with a lull in traffic between the first and second shifts. Finally, they finished at around two in the morning or so. As the hunting grounds grew quieter, Holly found herself looking around much more than the night prior.

Every noise had her jerking her head to investigate the source of the disturbance. It was usually a Maestro and their Resonator(s).

A sudden hand on her shoulder made Holly yelp with fright.

“Are you okay, Lady Holly?” asked Lee.

The zalavan gripped her chest as she tried to wrestle her breathing back to normal. “No, I'm trying not to get jumped again,” she admitted curtly.

“Don't run off and you won't have that problem,” Vivi returned Holly's snark with some of her own.

“I know it's scary at night dear, we're more than happy to take you back to the MA Office,” Solana added.

“I guess I'm staying with you still?” questioned the plant.
“Do you have anywhere else to go?” Solana returned the question in kind.
“Well, no but-”
“Then it's settled – you're coming back with us!”

Holly sighed, allowing her head to droop – these people were something else. If that was a good thing or not; well, the jury was still out on that one.

Everything was packed up and ready to go by three, and the quartet departed to return to the MA Office. Holly noticed she was in the middle of their traveling pack, Vivi taking point, while Lee and Solana flanked her left and right respectively. The trio chatted amongst themselves about how the evening went, but the poor zalavan couldn't focus on them. No, Holly was at maximum alertness; she wouldn't be had again.

That's why when a chilling mist suddenly descended upon them without warning, her hand immediately dove into her seed bag.

“This is Nebbia,” Lee whispered to Solana, who got the hint.
“Cancella il Ritmo,” spoke the Maestro.

Holly admitted that was a good call – magically created mist like this would be dispelled in an instant by that healing spell.

Lee closed his eyes and the mist evaporated as if under the scrutiny of the morning sun.

What happened next was too fast for Holly to follow. All she knew was there was a sudden burst of fire, Vivi let out a grunt, and Solana was knocked off her feet by her own Resonator’s body colliding with her.

The zalavan spun around to where Vivi had jumped to, and under the light of the moon was the director and a new Resonator. A huge Resonator. One bigger than any she had seen before. It had to be at least two heads taller than Lee. The plates of ice that rode down its back and tail made it all the more intimidating as a natural sort of mist radiated from its body.

Like the Not Deer, this melopomorph had shaggy hair and a strange almost vacant look in its tired eyes.

Vivi scrambled to her feet while Lee helped their Maestro up, all three glaring down the man and his Resonator.

“It is a shame I had to bring out the Skeljaskrímsli. I do hate getting my hands bloody,” the director spoke as if he was dealing with a stubborn stain.

“Ghiacciolo, Fortissimo Staccato.”
“Fulmine a Catena, Fortissimo!”

Lightning lept from Holly's hand, though this wasn't as easy as dealing with Scherzando. The electricity was an extension of her body, and she danced from plate to plate as the ice-clad cryptid launched its own armor like a machine gun. Its supply was never-ending as new plates of ice slotted in where old ones were fired off.

Eventually, the ice broke through as Holly ran dry the rhythm for her chain lightning. She still had seeds to run another casting of Fulmine a Catena, but she hesitated as she internally debated whether it was worth wasting the seeds.

A costly mistake in the heat of battle. “Gah!” Holly was forced to raise her arms to protect her face from the assault of ice that hit her hard. Solana and the others were also caught in the crossfire.

But that didn't mean they were just hapless victims.

“Dolina, Legato!” the chef commanded.
“Sotto! Skeljaskrímsli, move!” ordered the director.

Holly lowered her arms as the icy assault dried up. A sinkhole now separated them from the director and his cryptid.

Solana and her Resonators shook off the damage sustained from the icy assault and stood tall by Holly's side.

“Get out of here – this thing is a monster!” Holly hissed.
“Absolutely not.” The determined glare on Solana’s face drew pause from the young zalavan. Bright blue rhythm burned in her eyes, as she stubbornly held out an arm in front of the nature element.

“She's not yours,” the director pointed out.
“And? She's not yours either. I'm not going to sit here and watch you attack her,” Solana growled in a tone unlike anything Holly had ever heard from the kind chef. “You'll take her over my dead body.”

“That can be arranged, Ms. Leduc.”
“Tch,” the woman clicked her tongue. She tightened the grip around the red tuner she held. “Vivi, Scintilla di-”
“No stop!” Holly grabbed Solana’s tuner hand. “I tried that on the cryptid last night and it didn't do anything!”
“I'm not aiming at the Resonator,” said the chef without hesitation.

Oh.

Holly shook her head. “No, don't stoop to his level!”

“No, do go on Ms. Leduc, please – I insist,” the director goaded.
“Vivi!” Solana called.
“Stop it!” Holly barked.

The zalavan stepped forward. Solana matched her in kind. “I won't let you face him by yourself.”
“Why?”
“You shouldn't have to fight this monster alone.” Solana's eyes weren't on the cryptid, but the Maestro controlling the beast.

The whys could be asked another time. Right now, they had to deal with the enemy in their path.

“Ghiacciolo, Fortissimo Staccato,” the director called again.
“Saldatura ad Arco, Legato!” Solana called of Vivi.

Plates of ice flew at the quartet once more, but they only had to whether a couple of blows from the ice spell before Vivi let loose a savage bolt. It was as if she was spraying a hose of lightning, the hot electricity sailing in an arc that licked the ground. Vivi lifted the spell as it turned the ground under it to glass. The heat from the lightning-fire spell evaporated any ice in its vicinity, pulling double duty as a way to protect them while attempting to hit the opposing Skeljaskrímsli.

While this was happening, Holly drew her calabash seeds, channeling the sound magic into her body. She burned away her four hollies taking in the nature magic and melding the two aspects of magic together to form her own Ossia.

“Have him ready to Cancella il Ritmo again,” Holly advised the Maestro by her side. Without waiting for confirmation, she wrapped a vine around her arm and formed her bow of lightning.

Holly placed the lightning bow on her improvised instrument and began to play. Vivi finished her attack, though ultimately didn’t hit her mark due to focusing more on defense than offense.

“Skeljaskrímsli – strike them down!” commanded the director. The cryptid lumbered toward the quartet, each step marked by a heavy thud.

Even as the massive Resonator approached, Holly did not waver. She focused on casting her song out – the beautiful melody offered on air to all who could hear it. The scent carried on the wind was as sweet as it was enrapturing. The twofold assault on the senses did the trick as the cryptid soon crumbled before the four.

However, the director was gone yet again, having abandoned his Resonator when the tide of battle turned.

The zalavan let out a weary breath. “Damn it…” she ground her teeth. “He’s just gonna keep harassing me, isn’t he?” she growled.

Solana placed a hand on the plant’s shoulder. “If he tries again, I have a plan,” said the chef.

“While having a plan of action is advisable Lady Solana, what do you suppose we do with this fellow?” asked Lee, motioning to the sleeping cryptid.

The chef blinked twice, allowing her gaze to fall to the slumbering beast that was trying to crush them only moments prior. “Oh! Uhhh, good question, ahahaha…”

Holly sighed but smiled. Solana wasn’t a bad person…